Captain Kangaroo

Northern Illinois Accomplished It in 2003 Amazing that this 10-2 team didn't even get a bowl invite. They'd have beaten any of the 2009 MAC bowl participants by 17+ points.

28 Year Old WR Hopes to Make His First Professional Catch this Week I always found it amazing that he was 19 years old when Owens recruited him...and then he redshirted...making him a 21 year old redshirt freshman when he debuted @ UA.

I thought I read that height wasn't any sort of advantage in soccer?

I think Miami beating LSU on the road was an exponentially better showing. Oh yeah. Amazing accomplishment, and well worth reliving. In 1986, LSU was 1-0 and ranked 8th in the country after beating 7th-ranked Texas A&M in the season opener. Tiger Stadium is better known as Death Valley. Miami (Ohio) was a ridiculous underdog, but pulled off a huge 21-12 upset. LSU responded by losing only one other game during the regular season (by 2 to Ole Miss), finishing 9-2 and ranked #5 in the country. They lost to #6 Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, but they were still a stacked team. That's a once in a lifetime deal for an unranked MAC team. A tad different than when Lee Owens took the Zips into Death Valley. If I recall correctly...and it has been a long time ago... the Zips were down 42-0 at halftime. Owens called for the on-side kick to start the second half, and it was successful. The Zips took the ball inside the 10 yard line, then got stuffed. I think we lost 56 - 0? And "Owens Guy" -- No need to defend your man here. I'm merely pointing out history... obviously not a knock on Lee, who was very early in his UA career. Now the 34-0 end-of-first-quarter vs. Iowa... that one wasn't one of Coach Owens' finest performances.

I'm looking forward to seeing Richard play too. He had some serious accolades coming out of high school... WVa POTY, if I'm not mistaken? On paper he reminds me a lot of Chase Blackburn...when Chase came to UA I couldn't figure it out either... he seemed to be a solid BCS-level kid. However Richard made it to UA, I don't care. I'm happy to have him. I hope he has a great career here.

I think Miami beating LSU on the road was an exponentially better showing.

2-for-1 with a Big East opponent is 2-for-1 with a Big East opponent. The fact that UC's program ascended to Top 10 status was, scheduling-wise, all luck. We got a BCS win out of the Syracuse contact... and, to-date have no wins out of the UC contract. It is a pretty legit argument that the Syracuse contract is better for the Zips football program.

How is a 2-for-1 with Cincinnati any better than a 2-for-1 with Syracuse? Maybe after our 3-year building plan is complete, we can get our ass pounded against Miami FL just like Toledo will? We can only hope.

I'm for certain not entirely on-board with GoZips post. But the fact that there's a negative... or at-best an "indifferent" vibe surrounding the upcoming football season seems to be an inescapable fact. We have a head coach that no one knows anything about... except that he struggles with texting. He's as visible as the vapor trail LeBron left a couple weeks ago. That doesn't get anyone psyched for Opening Day. The cancellation of the golf outing was a big-time opportunity-lost to connect with the better fans (funny that the basketball program, with a fraction of the staff, can pull an outing of equal or greater size off without affecting their ability to perform their job). The football program could have held a golf outing... even a low-budget one... and used it to pump the fans up (like all other D-1 football programs do). The majority of fans don't care about huge prizes and skins. They want to bend the coach's ear for 5 minutes on hole #5... get drunk... get a t-shirt or cheap door prize...and eat some food afterwards. An outing at Mayfair or Raintree, with burgers, dogs and keg beer would have been a home run, and easily within anyone's budget. To be fair... that cute "Women's Football 101" seemed to be a HUGE success. I saw the pink shirts. Booting longtime supporters, who's checks written to the University easily exceed $1,000 annually, out of their InfoCision parking lot gave many good people a taste of their value to today's UA. Reading Rasor's blog you see his inferences that there is a "3-year plan" to win. And the best players may not see the field in order to get younger guys experience. If true... and I have not heard that from anyone's mouth that matters (RI, YouTube Tom)... shoot me now. Today's Zips have sufficient talent to compete in the MAC East. I'm tired of 3-year plans. I'm trying to get pumped for the opener vs. Syracuse. But I'm relegated to psyching myself up. UA isn't helping much... or at all. Is YouTube Tom the next Dennis Helsel... or Mike Thomas? Being totally honest... he sure could have gotten off on a better foot with me. But you play with the cards you're dealt. I was tailgating at the Rubber Bowl long before an 18-year old TW enrolled at St Mary's college, and I'll be tailgating at InfoCision long after he departs UA. See everyone in Lot # 7,346!

You'd be surprised how many student-athletes have kids.

No. It is totally handled amongst players.

If I'm not mistaken it was in Columbus a few years ago. But NC was nice as well (even though the weather didn't cooperate)! If that's the case, I'm impressed that they'd choose a cold weather site. It's true... 2003: Indiana 2-1 St. John's Columbus, Ohio Columbus Crew Stadium If the weather was bad, would they have moved the Championship to Northwestern?

Well said. Southern Cal is still layered in slime. The untainted players for USC have not yet been born. Do you mean USC or the NCAA? I think it is the NCAA that is layered in slime. The NCAA is akin to making sausage. The average Joe couldn't handle watching sausage production...but the end-product is absolutely delicious and everyone enjoys it. I absolutely love everything about a college game day. And Reggie Bush or Miles Brand can't ruin it for me.

Wow... a 7pm game time for an SEC tilt? There are going to be some SEVERELY drunk Wildcat fans at that game.

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OK... what team do you consider 1-AA: K.e.n.t. or Eastern Michigan? The MAC is a weak conference. LIke ITZ state -- JD's last couple recruiting classes were solid. They just came too late to save him. The Zips should compete for a MAC East title this season.

Obviously Joe Montana is a dirtbag dad.

I thought it was well done. I like the fact that they highlight the $15 price, and the opener against Syracuse. Negative: I think they could have shown some 2009 tailgating footage. People who haven't attended a Zips game have no clue that Zips tailgating is/was as festive as it is/was. ZipsFest footage wouldn't have been bad either. Selling only the game misses some key elements of the overall game day experience. Overall Grade: B

I can't wait to hear if he gets his car washed, or if his cat gets worms. Twitter rules.

Check this out. I like what read on his page. Apparently what ever he said was not for public consumption. Its blocked from view. Please let us know what he said. If it is private, he probably shouldn't post it.

True. When I think of Cedrick Middleton I see him face down on The Q court with clenched fists. And when I think Nate Linhart I see him holding the Championship trophy. The NIT wins trump the CBI loss... but the NCAA berth is the king.

Under Coach Dambrot (6 seasons?), what are the Zips top 2 OOC victories? Florida State. Temple. Mississippi St. All on the road. Some varying thoughts on the those games -- Yes, they were all on the road. But I bet we would have beaten them at home too. Note: * Mississippi State was on a neutral court * It gives you some greater appreciation for how good Dials/Middleton/Joyce/Travis/Wood teams were. Since they've departed, K.e.n.t. is kicking our butt with regularity and we're O-fer on big OOC games. Record-wise, the pre- and post-2008 teams were very similar. But the pre-2008 guys were a lot better teams. Of course, the post-2008 guys have some time remaining to make up ground. With the Mississippi State win coming in 2005, I would have hoped for another couple major (BCS) regular season OOC wins since that time. One is too few. I hope this team breaks the dry spell. It will go a long way in re-awakening public interest in the hoops program.

The first sentence of this piece has me wondering. "It has been nearly nine months since Tri-Valley's Clay Cameron capped a superb high football school career." I’m not sure whether to be happy the kid went to a football school or upset that apparently he was always high. I did learn something new. Had no idea walk-ons cannot start practicing at the same time scholarship players do. Also it sounds like the kid isn't sold on being a linebacker. The Minnesota Vikings drafted QB Joe Webb out of UAB this past April, with thoughts of converting him into "The Next Josh Cribbs." They gave him a token look at QB, and now he's #3 on the QB depth chart. You never know how things pan-out. I give the Cameron credit for doing whatever it takes to get his foot in the door.

Under Coach Dambrot (6 seasons?), what are the Zips top 2 OOC victories?

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